Home » Posts tagged 'Family'

Tag Archives: Family

A Tragic Loss

Posted on by | 5 Comments

Tomorrow my niece will greet friends and family at the funeral home with a broken heart and a brave face following the death of her only child days before. He died of a heroin overdose at 26 years old, and, the baby boy he was so proud of will not grow up with the father who loved him. I was at the hospital the afternoon the decision was made to remove his life support, and the finality of that took away all hope, even though it was inevitable.

The obituary in the paper just above his, details the death of a  20 year old, who also died of an overdose, and Ive since learned of three others, all in one week. There is a purveyor of death nearby, and if that person can be found and proven responsible for selling the stuff, the charges should include homicide. Apparently easy to find and affordable, it is becoming a frightening epidemic in our area. I pray that the loss of these young lives will stir an awareness in people.

Tomorrow there will be kind words and condolences from those who genuinely loved him, and that will be some comfort to my niece – but the loss of her son will be with her forever. It shouldn’t have happened.

 

Last But Not Least – My Dad

Posted on by | 6 Comments

The best acceptance speech I ever witnessed occurred on October 11,1974, delivered by my Dad as he was inducted into Carroll College’s Hall of Fame. And I quote:

“Being escorted up here tonight reminds me of back in 1927 when I was escorted from the University of Wisconsin where I was enrolled, by none other than Cliff Goerke, Les Smith, Kook Smith, Bud Sivage and Jake Supeda – to Carroll. When I enrolled at Carroll, I don’t know how many of you will remember,  Bible was a required freshman subject, but those same Sparta buddies told me that if I enrolled as a Catholic, I wouldn’t have to take Bible. It was not long after that I became interested in a Presbyterian minister’s daughter, and soon has a seat in Zach Davie’s Bible class’ I have always been grateful to my friends for escorting me to Carroll. I managed to pass my Bible class – married the minister’s daughter – later returned to Carroll to coach and teach, and have been a business man in this community ever since. I am very proud to have been chosen to be a member of Carroll’s Hall of Fame, and appreciative of this honor.” IMG_1230My sisters and I are also grateful that Dad’s friends abducted him from Madison on that fateful day!